June 24, 2013

Changes Coming in July for Reporting Animal Emergencies and Complaints

Residents are advised that beginning at 6 a.m., Monday, July 1, calls reporting animal emergencies and complaints in Montgomery County will be answered by the County Police Emergency Communications Center or MC311 call takers.

Animal-related emergencies in progress should be reported to 9-1-1. Some examples are:

Animal attacks in progress

An animal locked in a hot car (particularly important this time of year)

Animal cruelty in progress

An animal creating a traffic hazard

Calls to report animal-related complaints should go to the police non-emergency number 301-279-8000. Use that number to report:

A sick or injured animal or one that appears abandoned

An animal neglect situation

An animal in a trap issued by Montgomery County

An animal in distress due to severe weather conditions (Animals without shelter or water)

An animal threatening the well-being of a community member (Not in-progress)

An animal bite/attack (Not in-progress)

An animal nuisance such as an animal at large, a barking dog or not cleaning up after a pet

If you spot a dead deer along the roadway, you can report the location through the County’s MC311 Customer Service Center:

Call 311 or 240-777-0311 (from a cell phone), Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., or

4 comments:

The Animal Services Division says if you want to register a complaint about feral or stray cats, call the Police non-emergency line, 301-279-8000. Regarding stray or at-large cats, there's an animal trespass law in Montgomery County that gives an Animal Control Officer the authority to remove an unwanted animal from your property.

If your question is based on concern for the well-being of feral cats, there are private organizations that will humanely trap, neuter, vaccinate, then release them. If a feral cat was brought to the Animal Shelter, it would likely not be a candidate for adoption, because feral cats do not typically relate well to sustained human control and interaction.

For additional information, you may also call the Humane Society at 240-773-5960.

Thank you for sharing your comment. In response, the Animal Services Division says it is sorry that, in the past, you have not had a positive experience in reporting an animal noise complaint.

Under the new procedures, they remind you that you can call the police non-emergency number 301-279-8000 to register animal complaints, such as an animal noise complaint. Animal Services Officers will be dispatched daily between the hours of 6 a.m. and 1 a.m. to respond to such a complaint. Only emergency calls are dispatched during the overnight hours. The Animal Services Officer does not have to witness/ hear the noise. You would be asked to complete and sign an affidavit as to the details of your complaint. If your complaint meets the standards of the law, which would be explained to you by the officer, the offender would be served a civil violation citation which carries up to a $100 fine. If however the details of the complaint do not meet the violation standards, a citation could not be issued. If, after following this protocol, you still have concerns, you can call the Police Animal Services Division at 240-773-5925.